Contents

Summary

Steve Austin discovers that his bionic eye enables him to see secret chemicals that have been placed on government documents meant to be shredded, and the trail leads him to Clark Templeton O'Flaherty, the janitor of the building and an old friend of Austin himself. The colonel follows his old friend from the latter's janitor's job to a stylish apartment in an affluent neighborhood--too stylish, and in too affluent a neighborhood, for O'Flaherty to be able to afford as a mere janitor. Confronted, O'Flaherty tells Steve that he is actually working for an ultra-secret government agency, the OGA, and that he plans to sell the documents in an effort to get to the head of a subversive organization.

Confused, Austin calls Oscar Goldman, who says that he has indeed heard of the OGA, and even knows its Director. Austin then accompanies O'Flaherty to the meeting with the supposed buyer, which will prove either O'Flaherty's innocence...or his guilt. Meanwhile, Goldman meets with the OGA Director, Bill McAdams, to determine if O'Flaherty is in fact a legitimate agent. That much is confirmed. But the OGA Director points out that his organization disapproves of illegal acts, like stealing classified documents, to carry out its operations. Yet, McAdams denial is likely what Goldman would refer to as a "professional cop-out."

After the assignment was over, O'Flaherty pointed out to Goldman that he would never admit to giving an OSI agent orders to steal government documents. The implication is that McAdams' denial is false and O'Flaherty was operating under orders to steal OSI materials.

The epilogue makes it seem that both directors are interested in recruiting the other organization's agent.

Deconstructed

Quotes

Oscar: I've ordered all material that's come through O.S.I. in the past 24 hours to be coated with this chemical. I want you to check every pair of hands in O.S.I. ... particularly personnel that don't come in contact with this top secret material. I want you to get this inside man. I want you to break this ring and most of all, find out who's behind all this.

O'Flaherty:(pointing a gun at Steve) Well, old buddy, looks like I'm gonna have to find me a new handball partner.

Steve: I hope you've got an answer for this.O'Flaherty: Yeah, I've been stealing material from you guys, yes. But only to use as bait. I'm an agent with the O.G.A.Steve: The what?O'Flaherty: The O.G.A. Have you ever, you ever heard of the O.G.A.Steve: Never.O'Flaherty: I can't help that.Steve: What's it stand for?O'Flaherty: I can't tell you, man, it's a secret organization.

Oscar:(on phone) Yes Steve, I have heard of the O.G.A. But it's so secret nobody on the Hill knows who or how many there are.

O'Flaherty: Do you trust me now?

Steve: Yeah, well about as far as I can throw you. Well, maybe not that far.

Steve: You know, one mistake and we play handball again, and you're the ball.O'Flaherty: If it wasn't so dark you could see me shaking.

Trivia

Bionics

Steve is undergoing a test of the artificial skin used for his bionic limbs. According to the technician, Steve has been outfitted with an artificial skin that is tougher and nearly unbreakable. The test demonstrates that Steve's artificial skin is not damaged after he punches a hole through a concrete wall.

The technician also notes that it may be possible to make the artificial skin fireproof.

According to Oscar Goldman, Rudy Wells has developed a chemical with a phosphorescent base that is visible to Steve's infra-red vision.

Character

One of the few episodes to feature a female doctor testing Steve's bionics.

Steve uses the name Bob Towers when introduced as O'Flaherty's partner.

Storyline

The actual organization name of the "OGA" is not revealed, and it is never referred to again during the series.

Although the episode is clearly intended to set up O'Flaherty as a recurring character - Oscar even invites him to partner with Austin - he never appears again in the series.

Continuity

When Steve meets Clark for their handball game, they drive away in Steve's silver Mercedes 450SL. This same car has appeared on previous episodes as Col. Austin's private vehicle.

Later in the episode, Steve is following Clark in a red Pontiac GTO. Rather than a continuity gaffe, it makes sense that Steve would use a vehicle that Clark would not recognize.

Louis Gossett Jr.

This episode appears to be somewhat of a back-door pilot for Gossett's character. Universal also tried to spin off Gossett into another show through a Rockford Files episode, "Just Another Polish Wedding." His character there was named Gabby and it would he would have been paired with Isaac Hayes, whose character was named Gandy.